Boulder City Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Boulder City, Nevada 89005
Tuesady, May 7, 2002 12:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane initiated a forced landing after a partial loss of engine power during the takeoff initial climb. During the initial run-up the magneto check was not within acceptable limits; however, approximately 15 minutes later the pilot rechecked the magnetos and they were within acceptable limits. The pilot said he configured and checked the airplane prior to takeoff with 10 degrees of flaps and all gages "in the green." The pilot stated that he had leaned the engine during the taxi and takeoff. His procedure for leaning was to bring the mixture back until the engine began to run rough, and then turn the mixture control knob two times until the engine was running smoothly again. As the airplane climbed out, the engine was not developing enough power, and the pilot initiated a shallow turn toward the runway. The pilot verified that the throttle and propeller were forward and richened the mixture two turns; however, at that point the airplane lost all of its ability to climb. He executed a forced landing in the desert, shearing the nose gear and one of the main landing gear and bending the propeller blades. Passengers thought the engine sounded normal, but not like it was running at full rpm during the initial climb. A mechanic examined the airplane after the accident and found no discrepancies that would account for a loss of engine power. About 20 gallons of fuel was found in the fuel system, and fuel was in the fuel line to the engine. An aeronautical handbook states that operation with a lean mixture may result in a loss of engine power.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to lean the mixture properly resulting in a partial loss of power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/7/2002
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1230
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Boulder City
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89005
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 355651N
Event Location Longitude 1145140W
Event Location Airport Boulder City Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 61B
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 180
Airport Elevation 2201
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1256 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 300
Weather Observation Facility ID LAS
Elevation of weather observation facility 2458
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 16
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 10000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.72
Density Altitude (feet) 4446
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 5
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16318
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 7 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1310
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 29 2004 1:02PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-LAS-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N425Q
NTSB Number LAX02LA152
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 182P
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 182-60954
Certified Max Gross Weight 2950
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 5
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 22 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 20
Airframe Hours 6801.9
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Desert Air, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1401 Airport Rd. #4
Aircraft Owner City Boulder City
Aircraft Owner State NV
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 89005
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Skydive Las Vegas
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Other Work Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 61B
Departure City Boulder City
Departure State NV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1230
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 61B
Destination City Boulder City
Destination State NV
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 16 2004 6:14PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --